Gold Boom

Gold Boom Slot Review

A wild-eyed prospector leans in from the edge of a lamplit mine shaft, hollering at a 5×4 grid braced with pit props, prize plaques swinging overhead on iron chains. Gold Boom is the rare 20-line slot where the most important action happens above the reels rather than on them, and where the game remembers, between spins, exactly what you were building.

Slingshot Studios have built something with more forward motion than a 20-payline grid usually manages, and it comes from above the reels rather than inside them. Volatility is high, stakes run from 0.20 to 40.00, and the top collection prize pays 2,500x. If the mood takes you, Gold Fusion and Loot Boost cover adjacent ground from the same studio.

Base Game & Features

Wins pay across 20 fixed paylines on a 5×4 grid, left to right from the first reel. The Wild substitutes for everything except the Scatter, and landing one directly beneath a mine cart is how the carts pay out. The rest of the paytable runs from a hollering pirate captain down to the royals, which arrive in pairs and are priced together.

Symbol values, as multiples of the line stake for three, four and five of a kind:

• Pirate Captain: 2.5x, 5x, 10x
• Caged Canary: 2x, 4.5x, 9x
• Pickaxe and Gems: 1.8x, 4x, 8x
• Barrel: 1.5x, 3x, 7x
• Lantern: 1.2x, 2.5x, 6x
• Skull with Lamp: 1x, 2x, 5x
• A and K: 0.8x, 1.2x, 1.2x
• Q and J: 0.6x, 1x, 1.5x
• 10 and 9: 0.4x, 0.8x, 1x

It’s a conventional ladder in shape, with the royals bunched tightly at the bottom and the picture symbols pulling away from them. The captain stands alone at the top. Everything in between steps down in tidy increments, so there are no surprises hiding in the middle of the table.

The Mine Cart Feature

On any base game spin, one of five mine cart types can roll in above reel 5. Every cart carries a prize, and a Wild landing on the reel directly below claims it. Several prizes can drop in a single spin.

Each spin moves every cart one reel to the left. Any cart that walks off past reel 1 without being claimed is removed on the next spin, so there’s a real countdown attached to each one. Cart positions, Walking Wild reels and any held Scatter are all stored separately per bet amount, which rewards staying at one stake. Drop your bet and the carts you’d built at the higher stake wait where you left them.

The five cart types:

• Scatter cart – awards a Scatter that holds in place until two or more Scatters land and Free Spins triggers
• Wild Multiplier cart – awards 2x, 3x or 5x Wild multipliers
• Wild Reel cart – awards a full reel of Wilds
• Walking Wild Reel cart – awards a Wild reel that moves one reel left every spin
• Collection Prize cart – awards letters towards the prize ladder

Collection Prizes

The prize ladder is fed by collecting letters. Collect the full set of any prize’s letters and it pays:

• MINI: 15x
• MINOR: 50x
• MAJOR: 250x
• GRAND: 2,500x

MINI and MINOR letters can be collected in the base game and inside the Collection Prize Free Spins feature; MAJOR and GRAND letters only arrive during that feature. Letters gathered in the feature carry back to the base game if the set isn’t completed, and collected letters are stored per bet amount like everything else. The 2,500x GRAND is the ceiling of the whole game, and it sits at the end of the longest collection in it.

Gold Boom Free Spins & Bonus Features

Two or more Scatter symbols landing anywhere triggers Free Spins. Before the round begins, the Free Spins Feature Wheel spins and awards one of four features, and a mine cart sits above reel 5 on every spin of the round, so the claiming game continues inside the bonus.

The four features on the wheel:

• Collection Prize Free Spins – 20 free spins, with all four prize letters in play
• Walking Wild Reels Free Spins – 10 free spins with Walking Wild reels
• Wild Reels Free Spins – 10 free spins with full Wild reels
• Wild Multipliers Free Spins – 10 free spins with 2x, 3x and 5x Wild multipliers

The Collection Prize round is the deep one of the four: it’s the only place MAJOR and GRAND letters exist, and it runs twice as long as the others at 20 spins. The three wild-based rounds are shorter and more immediate. Free Spins can be retriggered, with all bets and lines matching the spin that started the round.

Bonus Recharge and Upsizer

When the round ends, the Bonus Recharge option offers one additional feature spin at a calculated cost to keep the round going. It can be limited or locked out entirely while the bet sits above a set amount.

The Upsizer works the other end of the round, selling upgrades to the awarded feature at the prices displayed at trigger time. Some or all Upsizer options may be unavailable above a bet threshold.

Buy Feature

From the first spin of the game onwards, the Buy Feature can be switched on to trigger Free Spins directly for a cost of 50x the bet. Like the Recharge and Upsizer, it may be limited or inaccessible at higher stakes. The wheel still decides which of the four features you receive.

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 7.8/10

Playing Gold Boom is a slow dig with a lamp on: most spins nudge a project along rather than pay you, and the reason to choose it is that the projects carry over. You leave a session with carts parked mid-track and letters half-collected, and coming back to them next time is half the pleasure.

Its best idea is that nothing in the base game is disposable. Even an unclaimed cart builds tension on its walk towards the edge. The ladder above the MINOR, though, is fenced off inside one of the four bonus rounds, so the big collection prizes stay distant for long stretches and the paytable gives little back in the meantime.

It suits players who enjoy a long build and a game that holds a grudge on their behalf; anyone after quick, regular hits will find the shaft cold. For the patient type, there’s gold down there, and it keeps.

Gold Boom FAQs

• How do you trigger free spins in Gold Boom?

  Free Spins begins once two or more Scatters appear anywhere on the grid. The Scatter mine cart can also award a held Scatter that stays in place until a second one lands.
• What do the mine carts do in Gold Boom?

  Five cart types can appear above reel 5 in the base game, each carrying a prize. A Wild landing on the reel directly beneath a cart claims it, and every cart moves one reel left per spin until it’s claimed or leaves the reels.
• What are the Collection Prize payouts in Gold Boom?

  The ladder pays 15x for a completed MINI set, 50x for MINOR, 250x for MAJOR and 2,500x for GRAND, the top prize in the game. MAJOR and GRAND letters can only be collected during the Collection Prize Free Spins feature.
• Can free spins retrigger in Gold Boom?

  Yes, Free Spins can be retriggered. Bets and lines for the retrigger match the spin that started the round, and a mine cart sits above reel 5 on every free spin.
• How much does the Buy Feature cost in Gold Boom?

  The Buy Feature costs 50x your bet and can be activated after the first spin. It triggers Free Spins directly, though the Feature Wheel still decides which of the four bonus rounds you receive.
• Is Gold Boom high volatility?

  Yes, Gold Boom is a high volatility game, so wins can be spread thinly in the base game. The bigger prizes are concentrated in the collection ladder and the free spins features.
• What are the betting limits in Gold Boom?

  Stakes run from 0.20 to 40.00 per spin across 20 fixed paylines on a 5×4 grid. Bet-dependent features such as the Buy Feature and Bonus Recharge may be limited at higher stakes.
• Who makes Gold Boom?

  Gold Boom is made by Slingshot Studios, whose other titles include Gold Fusion and Loot Boost.